Biomedical Engineering

The Biomedical Engineering blog is the place for conversation and discussion about topics related to engineering principles of the medical field. Here, you'll find everything from discussions about emerging medical technologies to advances in medical research. The blog's owner, Chelsey H, is a
graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) with a degree in Biomedical
Engineering.

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Chocolate and Alcohol — Good for Your Heart?

I love when things taste good and are good for you too! Who
doesn't? While it doesn't always work out so nicely for things like the potato
chips I'm eating right now…chocolate and alcohol have a shot (pun intended) of
going on the good and good for you list.

Image Credit: freepik.com

Chocolate

As a woman, chocolate has a special place in my heart and
I feel that I can safely say that for the majority of my gender. We learned of
the aphrodisiac effects of chocolate from HUSH's
Courtship Chemistry blog post and now a study has found that people who ate
chocolate more frequently have a lower body mass index (BMI).

The study
was done by Dr. Beatric Golomb and a team of researchers at the University of
California, San Diego, and is published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Golomb
hypothesized that modest, regular chocolate consumption might be
calorie-neutral. This means that the metabolic benefits of eating a modest
amount of chocolate might reduce fat deposition per calorie and offset the
added calories. The study surveyed 1,018 men and women between the ages of 20
to 85 years old about their weekly food intake. The results of the surveys
showed that those who reported eating more chocolate had lower BMIs. Also
surprising was the lower BMI group did not report eating fewer calories or
exercising more. The size effect was slim (again with the puns) but the effect
was large enough to be significant and no differences in behaviors could be
identified.

Unfortunately, this does not mean you can eat chocolate
all day, every day and get skinny. Dr.
Susan Roberts, director of the Energy Metabolism Laboratory at the USDA Human
Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, isn't convinced. She
was concerned about the self-reporting nature of the study and how the team
handled people who didn't actually report their calorie consumption. This is
especially relevant since overweight and obese people under-report the "bad
stuff" they eat and normal weight individuals may over-estimate the number of
calories they were consuming. Both
parties (Golomb and Roberts) agree that more research should be done with
controls to directly observe if chocolate's metabolic benefits can offset the
calories consumed. Both women also agree to the many
benefits of chocolate already proven. This includes a high amount of
anti-oxidants (especially dark chocolate), anti-inflammatory properties,
helping to reduce HDL (good cholesterol) and lower LDL (bad cholesterol), improve
insulin sensitivity, and helping to
reduce the risk of developing heart disease. But as with everything in life,
it's good in moderation. Chocolate does contain a high number of calories and
irresponsible use of chocolate can actually cause all the problems that it
helps to prevent.

Alcohol

While I don't like alcohol as much as I like chocolate, I
feel that it has more appeal across both genders. And, it does have its good
points. According to recent studies alcohol can help heart attack victims live
longer. The study was done by Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical
School in Boston. It was led by Dr. Jennifer Pai and published in the online
edition of European Heart Journal.

Researchers in the U.S monitored 1,818 men for up to 20
years after they survived a heart attack between 1986 and 2006. Every four years they were surveyed to
evaluate their lifestyle, include diet and alcohol intake. Moderate drinking
was defined as two 4 ounce glasses of wine, two bottles or cans or beer, or a
shot of spirits a day. The results of the study showed that long-term moderate
alcohol consumption among men who survived a heart attack had a 42% lower risk
of dying from heart disease than non-drinkers.
It furthered showed that their risk of death from any cause was reduced
by 14%. To be clear, this was only seen in the group labeled "moderate"
drinkers. High consumption wiped out the survival gains and it was most clearly
found in men who consumed moderate amounts of alcohol prior to the heart attack
and then continued after the attack. This video
explains more.

Previous studies demonstrated that moderate alcohol
consumption has been associated with a lower risk of heart
disease and death in healthy people. Alcohol has
also been linked to increasing HDL, improving insulin sensitivity, decreased
fibrinogen, and decrease inflammation. (And adding
strawberries doesn't hurt either). Unfortunately these results aren't
necessarily the same for women. Image Credit: Healthline.com

Now this can be an instance of "too much of a good thing."
While there is some glimmer of satisfaction you can gain by having a drink and
a piece of chocolate after a long day, there is a fine line between what's good
for you and what's bad for you. So enjoy your treat and know that you're
treating your heart right…just don't do so at the expense of the rest of your
body.

Re: Chocolate and Alcohol — Good for Your Heart?

04/04/2012 4:09 AM

The thing that interested me most was that both are said to reduce inflammation. As an Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) sufferer who is allegic to painkillers and anti-inflammatories, this is music to my ears.

Now it may be coincidence, but I haven't had much chocolate in the last few days, and my inflammation levels are up. As a result I'm eating more chillis as they are said to reduced inflammation. Chelse/HUSH: do you think we could have a blog on that subject, please?

On the alcohol front, I'm wondering if spirits are as beneficial - is it the alcohol or something else in a brewed drink? You see (tissues ready) I'm allergic to wine - and can't drink beer as it contains gluten. At £2.50 for a bottle (500 ml / ~1 pint) of gluten free beer, I don't indulge all that often, not when I can buy Swedish pear cider at £5 for 3!!

Of course my consultant told me to limit my alcohol intake due to its effects in conjunction with the meds....

Re: Chocolate and Alcohol — Good for Your Heart?

04/04/2012 9:21 AM

I'd say that if you preference is for vodka and orange juice, then have at it. I doubt that alcohol, which is itself toxic, is in fact chemically altering the body to produce the benefits described in the article. It seems more likely to me that the calming effect that an alcoholic beverage produces in turn yeilds the other positive results.

__________________
The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do. ~Thomas Jefferson

Re: Chocolate and Alcohol — Good for Your Heart?

04/04/2012 8:43 AM

There are beneficial effects of different chemicals found in chocolate (dark chocolate has the highest concentration) and wines although there are other fruits and products that can be consumed to take in higher levels of those beneficial properties without the downside of the fats, sugars and alcohol.

I heard someone say, tongue in cheek, that chocolate is actually a vegetable since it is a bean and therefore he should eat a lot of chocolate in order to be healthy.

__________________
One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do. Ford, Henry

Re: Chocolate and Alcohol — Good for Your Heart?

04/10/2012 11:41 PM

I fully subscribe to the report. A few notes are appropriate. The chocolate should be dark, 85% choko or better = bitter. The drinks are 1 shot for ladies, 2 for men per day for optimum results. Double it, and the effect disappears. There is no upper age limit.

EnglishRose. Rutgers University researchers discovered some 30 years ago, that some 30% of the population has bad reaction to the alkaloids in the nightshade family of plants: paprika, tomato, (potato), aubergine etc. A delayed reaction causes arthritis. Elimination and observation is the only way. It takes month(s) for certainty.